The Animagus Chronicles
by KrisRide94
Summary: Secrets kept are the largest part of Abigail Mahoney's life. Forced to leave her home in Ireland, the young witch finds herself enrolled as a fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Meeting the Golden Trio is an odd experience for the young woman and she finds herself thrown into a new world - one where her secrets may be worth telling after all. Eventual ships.


**I've legitimately rewritten and edited this story far more times than I care to admit, it's one of the first I've ever written and I adore it very much. However, I had not worked out a great deal of things and in the end, all it would have been before was a retelling of the book that was very, very close to the original. Therefore, I'm rewriting it entirely. The original premise is the same, but I hope to develop the story far more slowly than I would have otherwise. I'm still toying with the idea of tweaking a few more aspects of Harry Potter lore to fit my purposes but for now, everything is canon aside from the fact that in this story, Hermione could be considered to be bi or pansexual. I think that's about it. **

**Thank you for taking the time to read this and I sincerely hope you enjoy. I own nothing related to the Harry Potter franchise as it is property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. I do however, own my original character.  
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**Chapter 1**

The low din of voices in the train station was a veritable cacophony of sound to her delicate ears, she observed the natives milling about on the platforms, trying to disguise the grimace twisting her features by pretending to search her bag for something. Her ears twitched minutely with every new sound and she could already feel the beginnings of a head ache throbbing behind her left eyebrow. She studied her boarding pass again, just to ensure she wasn't having an odd onset of dyslexia that was making her interpret her intended platform number incorrectly. No. Evidently not. The platform listed was still platform 9 ¾ which to her knowledge, did not exist. She was almost positive it was a misprint, but maybe she'd just walked past the platform already. She just needed to pay more attention, that's all. A low sigh sent her head falling forward in dismay and she brushed her hair out of her eyes with an exasperated whine.

"This is just fucking perfect." She grumbled, kicking at the ground in front of her out of sheer irritation.

She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled slowly as she raised her head to observe the area around her once more, there were families milling about with trunks and things and for a moment she could have sworn a few children were toting owls and cauldrons but chalked that up to nervous hallucinations, although she knew it could be entirely possible considering where she was headed. She studied the large group near the barrier between platforms nine and ten, stepping closer to them and watching with quiet amazement as a pair of young men walked _through_ the barrier as if it was an ordinary occurrence. She blinked and resisted the urge to rub her eyes as she left her half assed hiding place to approach the group.

She cleared her throat awkwardly, "Excuse me?" She asked politely, satisfied that she was neither mumbling nor raising her voice to an inappropriate level. She was so nervous that she thought either one of those things could happen very easily.

A small, vaguely plump woman turned to look at her and smiled, a gesture that made her warm brown eyes brighten, "Yes, dear?"

She cleared her throat again and managed a half smile, "Could you… explain to me how to get on the platform? I uh… I've never had to do it before." She explained, although she would be going in as a fourth year, this would be her first year of school physically at Hogwarts and she had no idea how to get around, or even what the campus was like.

"Yes, of course dear. All you have to do is walk straight through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Ron will go before you, just follow him closely." The woman explained, prompting a short nod from the young woman who started to walk towards the barrier behind a lanky, ginger haired boy.

She, like the other boys who'd gone before her, passed through the barrier without incident and she blinked in surprise when the other side of the barrier revealed itself to be the mysterious platform 9 ¾ packed with wizarding families all bustling to say their goodbyes and load children onto the train. She glanced at the scarlet steam engine waiting to depart, the Hogwarts Express, it was an impressive train really, not that she'd seen many other steam engines to compare it to.

"Oi! Over here!" A voice called and she glanced over out of habit, noting the voice belonged to the boy who she'd followed through the barrier. She strode over to him timidly, not sure what else they could possibly need to speak to one another about. She wasn't particularly social with children her own age; it never tended to end well.

He smiled when she neared him, "What's your name?" He asked simply, giving her a perusing look that left her shifting anxiously in place.

"Abigail. Uh… Mahoney." She took a breath and shook her head, "My name is Abigail Mahoney." She continued, far more smoothly. "Yours?"

"Ron Weasley. " He replied simply, holding his hand out for her to shake. She shook it quickly, but firmly and let silence develop between them. She had never been particularly skilled at conversing.

Ron was rather tall, for a fourteen year old, at any rate and she ventured to guess he was probably 5'10", maybe a little shorter but damn close. His fire hued hair nearly brushed his shoulders, and curled around his ears slightly; bright blue eyes contrasted with his hair and stood out rather sharply when one took in his pale, freckle spotted complexion. He seemed to have dressed with the intention of blending in for he wore a plain orange t-shirt that had the logo for the Chudley Canons printed across the chest, a pair of dark jeans, and a pair of dark sneakers that had probably seen better days.

The young men who she'd seen walk through the barrier initially strode up behind Ron sporting matching grins and generally cheerful dispositions. They each threw an arm over Ron's shoulders and held their free hands out to her to shake. Abigail shook each of them quickly and waited for the boys, the twins, to introduce themselves.

"Fred and George Weasley, at your service." The twin on the right greeted, still smiling. "I'm Fred." He continued, nodding to one side, "And that's George."

She smiled softly and raised her hand in a wave, "Hullo. I'm Abigail Mahoney." She replied, wondering just how many times she was going to be required to introduce herself before the day was over.

Fred and George were just barely taller than their brother, with the same red hair and their mother's eyes set into the freckled complexions that the entirety of the Weasley family seemed to share. Their clothes were really the only thing that set them apart, with Fred sporting a maroon t-shirt, faded jeans and gold sneakers, and George sporting a gold t-shirt, dark jeans, and maroon sneakers. Their t-shirts did, however, have their initials sewn into the bottom hems, although neither of the twins appeared to have noticed. More footsteps then, well, footsteps that were approaching them specifically prompted her to look away from the twins briefly, catching sight of an older man as he rested a hand on each of the twins' shoulders and flashed her a warm smile.

"Who's your friend, boys?" He asked happily, glancing at each of his sons curiously for a short moment before he redirected his gaze and studied her briefly. She looked down nearly instantly, studying her sneakers with feigned interest – she had issues making eye contact with strangers and despite her best efforts to break the habit she still couldn't seem to shake it.

"Oh! Her name's Abigail, she's the girl who needed help to get on to the platform." Ron explained quickly, prompting a bright flush to settle over her cheeks along with a sheepish half smile and a vague wave to the older man as she managed to draw her gaze away from her sneakers.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Weasley." She greeted simply, holding her hand out for the man to shake. He did so quickly and firmly before he tilted his head to one side slightly, "From around here, or no?" He asked curiously.

Abigail blinked a few times and toyed with a loose thread at the hem of her shirt, "I-Ireland, I'm from Ireland." She managed quickly, swallowing reflexively. God, she really needed to work on her people skills – they were absolutely dreadful at the moment and she would be hard pressed to make any friends if things continued in such a manner. That was her opinion on the subject at any rate. Arthur Weasley sported the same bright eyes and fiery hair as Ron, as well as the height he seemed to have passed on to his sons – who were barely taller than he himself was, he was dressed in a plain suit and appeared perfectly normal by Muggle standards, something that surprised Abigail considering she'd never met many wizards who made an honest effort not to look like Muggles in any capacity.

She spent the next several minutes managing polite answers to the slew of questions the Weasley patriarch seemed to have for her, especially after she'd explained that she lived in close contact with Muggles back in Ireland.

"Arthur, really, you're interrogating the poor girl!" Molly Weasley exclaimed as she made her way up to them. Abigail smiled thinly, relieved for the reprieve – no matter how short lived it might have been. "Terribly sorry about him, dear, he's absolutely fascinated with Muggle things." She explained after a moment, patting her husband's hand lightly as Mr. Weasley offered the teenager a vaguely sheepish grin.

Abigail shook her head, "It's n-no trouble at all, ma'am."

Another one of the Weasley children – the last of the bunch, it seemed, poked her head around her brothers' shoulders and grinned, "What's going on here?" She asked with a grin, waving to Abigail after a moment. "Hullo! I'm Ginny. I see you've met my brothers." She commented idly, still smiling.

The older girl managed an amused smile and nodded, "Indeed I have, I'm Abigail. Good to meet you, Ginny." Ginny, like her brothers was dressed in plain clothes that looked a tad worn but not particularly worse for wear. Abigail absently wondered how many more people she was going to meet before the train left the station as another boy strode up to them, adjusting a pair of round rimmed glasses that seemed to be slipping down his nose. "You did fine, for someone who's never given it a go! What year are you in?" He asked curiously, smiling at her warmly.

She blinked and fiddled with her clothes again, not at all used to interacting with so many… genuinely kind people within such a limited span of time. "I'm a fourth year…" She answered simply, unsure what else she was supposed to include. She hadn't been sorted yet, so she wasn't privy to that information and she had already grown a tad weary of speaking – a moment of quiet would do her well, time to collect her thoughts and relax a little. She was remarkably tense at the moment, something that would not be readily remedied until she could get a moment to take her potion for the night. Blasted thing was the bane of her existence at this point and she hated it more than anything, but it helped, a hell of a lot, and for that reason she had to grin and bear it.

The bespectacled boy grinned and nodded, "Wicked. Ron and I are fourth years as well, as is Hermione, but I haven't caught sight of her yet." He explained, pausing briefly before he laughed sheepishly and held his hand out, "I'm Harry, by the way. Harry Potter."

She smiled and shook Harry's hand, of course she knew who he was, the boy was a legend but she assumed he might not appreciate the attention and chose not to freak out about that little fact. "It's nice to meet you, Harry." She replied with a smile – it was easy to relax around these people, they were so much kinder than she was used to… maybe not for long, but for the time being she would take what she could get. Harry was taller than she, with jet black hair and bright green eyes along with the famed lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. He was skinnier than he should have been and clad in ill-fitting clothes but he seemed rather happy and she chose not to pay any more mind to that.

A resounding clap echoed around them at that moment and Arthur smiled at the children, "Alright, you lot! Off you go! C'mon, c'mon, don't want to miss it." He called brightly, prompting amused eye rolls from the twins and a vague scoff from Ron – they were only a few feet from the train after all. With that said though, the teens collected their things and made quick work of boarding the train. Abigail followed Harry and Ron with the intention of slipping away into a compartment of her own without any notice, unfortunately, they all seemed to be filled and a run in with a group of rather annoyingly crass Slytherin students left her far too annoyed and on edge to remember her previous plan. Finally, after much searching, they settled into an empty compartment towards the back of the train and Abigail settled down immediately, rooting through her bag for the all-important flask she was meant to have put in their before her departure. She nearly cheered with triumph when she located it and pulled it out with no effort to conceal it, she would simply fudge the truth a little if the boys questioned. Harry gave her a curious look when he settled on the opposite side of the compartment, "Abigail, did you mention what house you were in? I can't seem to remember."

She shook her head as she uncapped the flask and took a long swig of the vile liquid inside, "Christ, that's awful." She grumbled under her breath, before returning the flask to her bag and shaking her head again, "I've not been sorted yet, so I have no idea what house I'm in. My transfer here was… sudden, and I've never been, so… I'm to be sorted when we arrive." She explained, opening her mouth again to ask the boys what house they were in just as the compartment door slid open. Her mouth closed again with a nearly audible pop and she studied the young woman in the doorway with a nearly enraptured expression – something felt like it was pulling her, the sensation settling oddly around her navel and leaving her wondering what in the hell was going on with her body.

The girl in the doorway quirked an eyebrow at Harry and Ron and smiled playfully, "We've not been back for ten minutes and you've already replaced me." She announced teasingly, eliciting laughs from both boys and a half smile from Abigail. "I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger." The girl introduced herself and Abigail smiled softly in return, "Abigail Mahoney." She stated in return.

Abigail tried her very best not to stare at Hermione like some oddball voyeur, but she found the other young woman to be fairly entrancing and every move to turn her eyes away was entirely unsuccessful. Hermione was barely shorter than she was with light brown hair that she'd pulled back into a plait and bright cinnamon brown eyes that seemed to be filled with more life than she could ever recall seeing in a person. "What house are you three in?" She asked after a moment, finally remembering she'd meant to ask them something.

"Gryffindor." The trio responded in perfect unison and Abigail laughed softly, "Well alright then, don't need to tell me twice." She murmured with another giggled.

"You said you transferred here suddenly, why?" Harry asked her, and she peered at him quietly for a moment – he seemed genuinely curious.

"I couldn't…" She trailed off and paused, taking her bottom lip between her teeth as she considered how to phrase her answer, _secrecy is key_ – the warning bounced around in her thoughts and she shook her head lightly, "I wasn't able to live in my town without problems. The other children, well… I suppose I shouldn't call them that. The other people my age didn't particularly… like me, and did very, very little to hide that fact. The harassment got particularly bad and I had to move. I am a witch and received my letter very promptly following my decision to leave. My brother and sister are fine with my decision and well… here I am." She raised her hands with a flourish and let them fall again rather quickly, mentally bracing herself for the flow of questions she assumed would be coming.

She sniffed the air quickly, disguising the gesture with a handful of sniffles, as if she simply had a cold. There was food close, maybe she could just… she stood abruptly and reached for her rucksack again, digging through it until she collected the small bag of coins her brother had slipped her prior to her departure – it would be enough for something to hold her over until they reached the castle and the motion of gathering the money did a decent job distracting her from her worries about the questions her new… acquaintances might have. "Well, welcome then, at any rate. What are you doing?" Harry piped up and Abigail turned to flash him a toothy grin, "Food will be along soon, won't it? I'm rather hungry is all, and well; I've got to pay somehow." She laughed softly hoping the excuse would be enough to satisfy the question.

The snack trolley arrived a few moments later and she bought what she could with a small handful of coins, settling back down with her purchase and smiling at her companions. "How'd you know it was coming? The trolley?" Ron asked between bites and Abigail shrugged slightly, "I thought I heard something down the hall and assumed that's what it was, that's all." She answered simply.

It was easy to lie, so, so easy and she hated it – the lying. Secrecy, however, was an asset for her now. Secrets were like her own failing currency – things she should be letting go of, but was forced to cling to.

For everyone's sake, her secrets were better kept under lock and key.


End file.
